Obesity: A Barrier in Conceiving

Obesity or excessive body weight is always considered evil for your health. In general, obesity comes with its sister diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and so on. It further causes various health problems. Even your fertility can not be unaffected by it.

Obesity may not only affect your fertility but also create complications such as miscarriage and preeclampsia in your pregnancy. If you are concerned about pregnancy difficulties, contact SCI IVF HOSPITAL having Best Female Fertility Doctor in Delhi.

It equally affects male and female fertility as it creates a hormonal imbalance that negatively affects sexual activity.

Diagnosing Obesity

Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to diagnose overweight condition or obesity. In BMI, the height and weight of the person under observation are used to calculate body fat. If the BMI is more than 25, the person is considered overweight; while having a BMI of 30 is considered obese.

Effects of Obesity on Female Fertility

Being overweight or obese may make it harder to get pregnant.

• Hormone Level Imbalance: Hormones are directly related to trigger ovulation and maintaining your estrogen and progesterone levels. But fat cells frequently produce higher estrogen levels, which may cause irregular menstrual cycles, affect ovulation, and makes it difficult to conceive.
• High Blood Pressure: Hypertension may cause blockages to the blood vessels leading to the sexual organs and cause vaginal dryness thus leads to sexual dysfunction.
• Insulin resistance: Insulin Resistance (IR) may occur due to obesity. It increases the chances of developing diabetes mellitus or type 2 diabetes. It causes hormonal issues and irregular menstrual cycles. It may cause anovulation, a complexity where the body stops maturing and releasing an egg every month.
• Chances of PCOS: If a woman is encountering sudden and excessive weight gain, she may likely to affect by PCOS. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the biggest reason of infertility in women as it is an imbalance of reproductive hormones. In other words, it is a hormonal condition, where numerous small cysts are formed in ovaries. Thus cause a problem in conceiving.

Effects of Obesity on Male Fertility

Just like females, males are also subjected to obesity-born infertility due to the following reasons.

• Hormonal Imbalance: In males, hormonal imbalance affects their sperm quality. In obese men, reduced androgen and SHBG levels along with elevated estrogen levels are found. That may affect the sexual desires negatively thus may lower the semen volume.
• Hypertension: Hypertension may affect the blood flow to the penis that may cause poor semen concentration, lower sperm count, and motility. Sperm quality, quantity, and morphology in obese males are found low as compared to the normal weighted males.

Enhancing Chances to Conceive in Obese People

Obesity should be taken seriously while planning to conceive and having a baby. A couple facing the infertility issue due to obesity should focus on losing their weight through a healthy and balanced diet. A significant amount of physical activity or exercise also helps in reducing weight. You can also take help from a professional for a healthy diet to lose weight. You can consult doctors in SCI IVF HOSPITAL – Fertility Clinic in Delhi.